... because apart from the main character and a few characters from the original (who are in for barely any time) this film bears no real resemblance to the original Police Story.
The film is quite good. There is a drug syndicate on the loose and thus the Chinese government wants the help of Hong Kong in dealing with the problem, so the Hong Kong police send their 'supercop', Ka Kui (Chan), the hero from the previous 2 Police Story films.
There are some exceelent action scenes, and for a change they don't always include Jackie, as Michelle Yeoh co-stars and has a go herself.
The bad parts of this film IMHO were when they tried to include the old 'Police Story' elements into the film. The plot involving May bumping into Ka Kui whilst on assignment has been done TWICE already and it's gotten rather old (you'd think she'd have gotten a hint the previous 2 times). Ka Kui's superior Bill is enjoyable as always but apart from a few minutes at the start and a quick stint as Ka Kui's pretend mother hardly shows up for the film. It makes you wonder whether it was necessary to include these elements when it may have just been easier to go for a straight-out new film as opposed to another sequel.
All up, the film is enjoyable, with some excellent action scenes (as always). Just don't expect a 'Police Story' film when you see it. As mentioned above, the only real thing that ties it to the first 2 in the series is the main character and a few characters from the originals who are hardly in it at all. Apart from that, it's a different film. They should have just called it 'Supercop' and be done with it (the film itself landed it's own sequels).
8/10.
Footnote: this is a review of the SUBTITLED version (not the dubbed version, thankfully).
The film is quite good. There is a drug syndicate on the loose and thus the Chinese government wants the help of Hong Kong in dealing with the problem, so the Hong Kong police send their 'supercop', Ka Kui (Chan), the hero from the previous 2 Police Story films.
There are some exceelent action scenes, and for a change they don't always include Jackie, as Michelle Yeoh co-stars and has a go herself.
The bad parts of this film IMHO were when they tried to include the old 'Police Story' elements into the film. The plot involving May bumping into Ka Kui whilst on assignment has been done TWICE already and it's gotten rather old (you'd think she'd have gotten a hint the previous 2 times). Ka Kui's superior Bill is enjoyable as always but apart from a few minutes at the start and a quick stint as Ka Kui's pretend mother hardly shows up for the film. It makes you wonder whether it was necessary to include these elements when it may have just been easier to go for a straight-out new film as opposed to another sequel.
All up, the film is enjoyable, with some excellent action scenes (as always). Just don't expect a 'Police Story' film when you see it. As mentioned above, the only real thing that ties it to the first 2 in the series is the main character and a few characters from the originals who are hardly in it at all. Apart from that, it's a different film. They should have just called it 'Supercop' and be done with it (the film itself landed it's own sequels).
8/10.
Footnote: this is a review of the SUBTITLED version (not the dubbed version, thankfully).